Tagging device



Aug. 2 1949. J. a. LINNEMANN TAGGING DEVICE Filed Feb. 17, 1944 JOHN DOE Patented Aug. 2, 1949 TAGGIN G DEVICE Joseph G. Linnernann, Delhi Township, Hamilton County, Ohio Appiication February 17, 1944, Serial No. 522,759

2'Claims. i

This invention relates to a device for imprinting and applying a tag to an object for identification. The invention is particularly disclosed herein as especially adapted for use by dry cleaners, for Whom it is essential that various articles of clothing, forming part of one order, be similarly identified and effectively tagged in such manner that the identifying data will not he accidentally removed during the various stages of the process through which they pass. Obviously, however, a tagging device of this character is adaptable in various fields which selective identification and effective are desired.

A further object of the invention is the production of a device of the kind described, in. which the identifying data is rendered selective for each tagging operation.

Another object is to provide means of the nature indicated, which are simple in construction and operable by a single movement of the device in question.

These other objects are attained by the means described herein and illustrated in the eccompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 a side elevational View, with. parts broken away, of the tagging device of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational View of the same.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is view taken on the line i-t of Fig. 3.

Fig. a is a detail plan view of an imprinted tag applied to a section of fabric by means of the tagging device of the present invention.

Fig. 6 a cross-sectional view on the line 6--% of Fig. 5.

As above intimated, it is of importance in various fields to similarly identify various items belonging to a single group upon which some operation is performed, during which the parts or items are necessarily separated. This is particularly true in the dry cleaning field. in which large numbers of articles of clothing are handled and transported, both before and after the cleaning operation. In the case of a mans suit, for example, there are usually three, and sometimes four, items which must be properly identified with respect to one another, so that the pieces may be brought together and delivered to the customer without loss or delay. Heretofore the common practice for identifying the pieces of one group has been to pin or tie a tag or slip of paper to each article of wear forming a unit, and apply the same name or identification data to each tag or slip, and ordinarily by hand-writing. Obviously, this procedure is unsatisfactory for Various reasons. The pin attaching the or slips to the article frequently becomes unfastened or loose, with the result that the identifying tag is also lost and a great deal of time and efiort encountered in tracing and restoring the article of clothing to the proper group. At times, of course, this loss of the identification means the loss of the item of wear so marked, especially in large dry cleaning businesses with a large volume of goods handled.

In any event, the means for identifying garments, in the dry cleaning business, have heretofore been crude and elementary. It has been attempted to facilitate the marking process by providing stamps, carrying numbers or letters, so as to obviate the necessity of writing out the full name of a customer, but here too there is danger of loss and confusion, if the number or letter, or other identification is not properly modified or adjusted for each customer.

These and various difilculties are eliminated by the present invention, which provides means for similarly applying the whole name of a customer to a tag and clinching the tag to the garment.

In greater detail, and with reference to the drawing, the device of the invention comprises a support It, upon which a pair of rear legs i i and front leg l2 carry a base l3, upon which a movable marking and stapling unit is mounted. It will be seen that the base I3 is preferably mounted so as to slant downwardly from front to rear, the purpose being to bring the alphabetic indicia at the front of the unit within full view of the operator. The base 13, in order to provide a finished appearance, may be formed with side flanges I l, and these, at the bottom of the base may be secured as at !5 (Fig. 3) to the tops of the legs H and It.

At the rear of the base It the reduced end of a housing 55 is pivotally mounted, as at i? on a bracket is, secured to the base it. This housing has flat cone-shaped side walls 5 9, a flattened top section 23, and an arcuate front section 22. The latter, as seen in Fig. 2, is provided with longit-udinally extending slots 22, through which extend levers 23, which are utilized in sett ng the marking mechanism to a desired group of letters, as Will be further described.

A spring 2:3, associated with the pivotal mounting ll (Fig. 3) is interposed at this point between the base l3 and the top section and normally retains the housing and its contents in a raised position. The device is operated by means of a lever 25 hingedly mounted, as at 26 (Fig. 1) on an upright 2'1, projecting upwardly through a center opening in the housing E6, the upright being suitably secured to the base it, as at 28 (Fig. 1) A link 29 pivotally connects lever 25 with the top section of the housing, so that when the lever is pressed downwardly and forwardlt by the operator, the housing and its contained mechanism are carried downwardly for performing the imprinting and attaching operation, after which, the spring 24 carries the housing back to its normal position.

The side plates 19 of the housing carry a central shaft 36 (Fig. 3) extending transversely therebetween. This shaft 3!! has rotatably mounted thereon a plurality of plates 31 (Fig. 2) and the plates are provided along their lower edge portions, with embossed letters. The plate 31 have each connected therewith one of the levers 23, previously mentioned, and the front section 21 of the housing, between the various slots 22, is marked with letters corresponding to those on the plates 3|. When it is desired to move one of the plates 3| for imprinting a particular letter, the corresponding lever 23 is moved in its slot 22 to the point adjacent the desired letter, at which time the same letter On the actuated plate 31 will be disposed in its lowermost, or printing position. Thi type of structure has been hitherto utilized, and will be understood without further elaboration. For further details in this connection, reference may be had to Patent No. 1,156,000, dated October 5, 1915.

At each end of the shaft 3!], inside the housing, there is pivqtally mounted a plate for carrying an inking pad which passes across the lowermost letters on the plates 3i prior to each marking operation. This plate i provided on the left side of the present device, as indicated at 32 (Figs. 1 and 3). and the stud passes through a slot 35, formed at the upper raised end of a bar 35, secured, as at 36, to the base l3. The slot 34 and stud 33 serve as a guide for movement of the plate 32.

Projecting downwardly from each plate 32 is an extension 3'! (Fig. 1). The lower ends of the extension 31 carry between them a transversely extending channel strip 38, in which a suitable inking pad is positioned. When the lever 25 is operated, the plates 32, and consequently the extension 31, are swung rearwardly, with the result that the inking pad is wiped across and passes beyond the lowermost letters of the plates. The extensions 31 have pivotally connected thereto, as at 39 (Figs. 1 and 3), the rear ends of a pair of arms 43, which are, in effect, extensions of a tag holder or frame 40, extending transversely of the lower portions of the front section 21 of the housing I6. In this holder a suitable fabric tag, or the like, such as is illustrated at M- (Fig. 5) is positioned so that when the lever 25 is actuated, the holder and its tag are carried rearwardly and downwardly. Thus the tag 44 becomes disposed beneath the pre-selected letters of the imprinting plates, which letters are imprinted on the tag when the lever 25 is actuated. A transverse ridge or platen 58 on base 13 provides a raised abutment upon which the selected lowermost group of letters on plates 3| may bear when lever 25 is brought down. The holder ll) is resiliently held in a raised position relative to the base l3, by means of a spring 4| (Fig. 3) which normally holds the frame 49 upwardly against the lower edge of the front section 2|, as at 42 (Figs. 1 and 3).

Plate 32 has a stud 33 secured thereto,

In accordance with this invention, the tag, at the same time that it is imprinted as described, i also attached to an object or garment by a wire stitch, as indicated at 45 (Figs. 5 and 6). This is accomplished by the following means: Within the housing 16 on one side thereof, there is positioned a wire stitching device of the type now commonly known. This device may comprise a body it Within which, as indicated at ll, a plurality of inverted U-shaped wire clips are positioned, these being resiliently pressed forward of the body it by means of a suitable advancing mechanism t8 and follower 49 actuated by a preloaded spring reel rotatably mounted Within a rectangularly shaped housing forming the forward end of said body 48. A suitable bracket 5 is mounted upon the housing, all in accordance with well known construction, to guide a vertically reciprocating thrust bar 56, the lower end of which, when the bar is pressed downwardly against the pressure of an expansion spring 5%, engages the foremost wire clip 41 and presses its ends downwardly through the subjacent materials or objects, and thereafter bends the lower ends of the wire clip against a base member, which in thi case is provided by the base I3. The completely attached clip is indicated at 55 (Fig. 6).

For accomplishing this function, the body 56 of the wire stitcher is pivotally mounted on a shaft 52 extending between the plate 35 and upright 2'1 (Fig. 4) The forward end of the stitcher is disposed beneath a laterally projecting ear 53 on the plate 32, with which the upper end of the thrust bar 50 has a sliding connection as indicated at 54. By such mounting, t e stitcher is moved hingedly in accordance with the movement of the housing l5 and the associated parts.

As is most clearly shown in Fig. 3 the forward end of the stitcher is supported by the channel strip 38 and the hinged movement of the stitcher body on the base i controlled by the pivotal movement of said strip. When the imprinting unit is fed toward the work, the plate 32 is rotated counterclockwise on shaft 38 by relative movement of the shaft and the lost motion connection of plate pin 33 in the slot 34 formed through bar 35. Said rotation of the plate 32 carries the car 53 down upon the plunger whilst the strip 38 tends to bear upwardly against the stitcher body 46 thereby operating the plunger to cause initial feeding movement of a staple from said body. When the imprinting unit is in its printing position the staple is finally fed by the plunger from the stitcher body through the material of the work and tag and the final unit movement clinches the staple to the work.

It will be observed that the said unit is normally spaced above the base 13, so that the latter is adapted to receive a garment or other object thereon, and to which a tag is to be attached. For positioning the gar-ment or other object on the base l3, the latter may be formed with a transversely extending slot 55 (Figs. 1 and 4) into which the rear part of the fabric may be inserted, the latter being then carried forwardly, and ordinarily extending downwardly of the front edge of the base 13. The fabric so disposed is now in operative position beneath the imprinting and stitching unit. A tag is placed in position on the holder ill and the lever 25 is moved downwardly and forwardly, as already described, at which time the tag 34 is carried to substantially the position seen in Fig. 5, relative to the fabric to which it is to be secured. The final downward movement of the lever 25 results in simultaneously printing on the tag the letters already determined by selective movement of the levers 23, and in the operation of the thruster bar 50, which passes the lower end of one of the clips 41 through the juxtaposed tag and fabric, and thereafter bens the lower ends of the clips toward one another against the base it), in which a suitable anvil 58 (Fig. 4) may be provided for facilitating the inward turning of the clips ends.

It will be noted that the side and top plates of the housing It may be removably connected, as at 57 (Fig. l); and furthermore, that at the rear of the top section 20 of the housing, a small sliding door I58 may be provided for giving access to the adjacent portions of the operating unit, such as for replenishing the supply of dips n in the stitclier.

Variations will suggest themselves upon consideration of the means herein disclosed, but these are believed to be comprised within the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. .A tagging device for garments comprising a garment supporting base, a hollow tag imprinting unit pivotally mounted on the base, a tag to 5 garment stitcher pivotally mounted on the base within the imprinting unit, an actuating plate rotatably mounted Within the printing unit and having a mechanical connection with the stitcher, an extension member fixed to the plate, a tag holder carried by the imprinting unit and having a pivotal connection with the extension member,

and an arm fixed to the base and having a sliding connection with the actuating plate.

2. A tagging device comprising a base, a tag imprinting unit pivoted upon the base, a bar fixed to the base and disposed within the unit, a tag stitcher pivotally mounted at its rear portion on the bar, a stitcher actuating cam rotatably mounted within the unit, an arm depending from the cam for supporting the forward portion of the stitcher, a plunger for the stitcher, a plunger depressing ear on the actuating means, a tag holder mounted on the unit for reciprocating movement, a pivotal connection between the holder and the arm, and a sliding connection between the bar and the cam for rocking the cam upon manually instituted feed and return movement of the unit.

JOSEPH G. LINNEMANN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 960,206 Silverstein May 31, 1910 1,047,005 Dodge Dec. 10, 1912 1,049,509 Moore Jan. '7, 1913 1,127,006 Hullings Feb. 2, 1915 2,004,202 Horton June 11, 1935 2,160,552 Maiben May 30, 1939 2,353,636 Bailey July 18, 19441 

